'Fast-track cases or people may lose faith in judiciary'

Murthy said inordinate delay in justice delivery is making the public lose faith in judiciary.

Mumbai: Infosys co-founder NR Narayana Murthy on Friday called for speedy trials, saying inordinate delay in justice delivery is making the public lose faith in judiciary. Citing the example of Satyam Computer promoter Ramalinga Raju, who is awaiting trial even after four years of his being charge-sheeted for accounting fraud at the erstwhile IT major, he said cases should be decided faster.

"Why people have low faith in our laws? For example, I don't know whether Ramalinga Raju is guilty or not. But the reality is that Raju has not been tried even after four years. "It's perfectly all right, if the judgement says he is not guilty or guilty...," he said here this evening. Murthy recalled that the guilty in the Madoff scandal in the US had been tried in six months.

Madoff investment scandal broke in December 2008 in which many US investors lost their money on a 'Ponzi' scheme. Joining the debate on excessive CEO compensation, he said remuneration of higher executives should be based on the principle of fairness, wherein emphasis should be given to a balanced approach with respect to lowest paid in the firm.

"I've always said the senior management compensation has to be based on three important parameters--fairness with respect to lowest salary in the organisation; transparency wherein every detail has to be made known to the shareholders; and accountability that emphasises on variable pay," Murthy said on the sidelines of an event.

The IT industry captain said the compensation should depend on the overall performance of the company and the Chief Executive with a claw-back clause, specifying that if such performance is obtained using unfair means that should be taken off.

Recently, Sebi Chairman UK Sinha raised concerns over excessive CEO compensation and called it unjustified. To a query on opening retail to foreign investment, Murthy said the traditional retail stores would continue to do business, despite entry of multinationals, if they come up with a differentiated value proposition.